When you picture a mathematician, what comes to mind?  Now … what about a “mathematical explorer”?  Well, that’s what Francis Su calls himself, and when Vanessa picked up his book Mathematics for Human Flourishing, she couldn’t put it down. On today's episode they explore how mathematical discovery can unleash the wonder and curiosity innate within us all.  They also discuss some deep questions, like why do people have different emotional reactions to math compared to other fields?  How can humans cultivate the virtues we'll need to keep AI in check?  And why is change ..read more

Longtime listeners (like today’s guest, as you’ll discover…) will recall one name popping up in almost every interview last season, so Vanessa needed to find out for herself: who is Zak Champagne & why do people like him so much?! Through today’s rollercoaster episode she discovered a teacher with boundless enthusiasm for the joys of teaching, grounded in a deep respect for his students.  They unpack what we really mean by terms like “student voice” and “building trust”, offer practical advice on how to actually integrate those ideas into the classroom when teachers are already so st ..read more

Season 6 drops March 28th - here’s a sample of who and what you’ll hear ..read more

It's March 14th, aka 3.14 ... so Happy Pi Day!  To help you get in the zone, we're re-airing an episode from last year recounting the Math Therapy team's Pi Day 2023 trip to Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility in Michigan.  This stemmed from Vanessa's Season 3, Episode 10 interview with Christopher Havens, an inmate serving a 25-year sentence for murder who has rehabilitated himself with math and founded the Prison Mathematics Project. Find out more about PMP at prisonmathproject.org where you can: donate volunteer as a mentor for an inmate sign up an inmate interested in the progr ..read more

The rumours are true!  (The rumours that Vanessa has been spreading herself.)  Season 6 of Math Therapy launches March 28th! To get you hyped while we get this batch of episodes ready for you, here are some brief thoughts she recorded immediately after we finished a marathon 10 interviews over 4 days.  What themes did she cover? Will she or her guests get cancelled this season?  How much did she annoy her producer David?  You be the judge ... Make sure you're subscribed to the podcast feed, and tell a friend about Math Therapy ..read more

Don't worry, Math Therapy isn't going anywhere ... but here's a fun bonus episode as we look back on an incredible 5th season!  It was a total success in every possible way, except one: for whatever reason, Vanessa lost the ability to simply say "goodbye" at the end of the interviews. This hadn't been an issue in previous seasons but she somehow got very in her head about it, and when her producer David recently listened back to them he thought they were hilarious and had to be shared our listeners. If you have any advice for how Vanessa can deal with her sudden onset "goodbye anxiety ..read more

In Vanessa's masters thesis titled "Imagining a World Where Paris Hilton Loves Math", there was nobody quoted more frequently than today's guest, Stanford professor Dr. Jo Boaler.  On the season 5 finale of Math Therapy, Vanessa sits down with her math ed hero to discuss how limiting beliefs vs a growth mindset impact the brain, how struggle and mistake-making benefit learning, and the extremely personal resistance she's faced in a career dedicated to making math more equitable and accessible. About Jo: (Website, Twitter) Stanford Professor Dr Jo Boaler is author of 18 books, numerous art ..read more

Peter Liljedahl is literally changing the math classroom.  His book "Building Thinking Classrooms" has taken the educational world by storm with a simple message: instead of teaching students to memorize, we have to teach them to think.  Sounds trite, but if you ... think about it, traditional classrooms are not designed that way! Today, Peter explains to Vanessa how a "thinking classroom" swaps out tables for vertical whiteboards to reduce barriers for student interaction in problem-solving, and how small randomized groups foster collaboration that lifts the whole class.  He a ..read more

Should mistake-making be encouraged in math class? Or should mistakes be shamed because “in the real world” you can get fired from your job from making a mistake? You can probably guess how Vanessa feels, but a fellow educator recently disagreed … so of course she took to Twitter and a spirited convo ensued! On today’s episode she further outer-processes her thoughts on this topic, and shares two classroom exercises that encourage constructive mistake-making and help normalize growth from failure. Connect with us: Vanessa Vakharia: @themathguru (Insta, Twitter, TikTok) Math Therapy: @maththe ..read more

Today's guest literally entered the chat wearing a t-shirt that read "TRUTH MATTERS”, and that sure set the tone for this wide-ranging episode!  Crystal M. Watson is an educator who firmly believes in centering student voices in the classroom, and she also advocates for empowering students by making math practical and meaningful to their life experience.  Throw in some discussion on defining success, different approaches to grading, and a simple but thorough explanation of what "critical race theory" is and what it definitely isn't, and we've got an astonishingly jam-packed episode t ..read more